Overnight, the illicit underworld of Luoyang, the Eastern Capital, was smashed apart piece by piece by a pack of vicious outlaws from the Rivers and Lakes, savage as wolves and tigers. No one knew who had provoked these lawless fiends. They cared nothing for the rule of keeping well water clear of river water, made no inquiries into anyone's affiliations, and had no fear of making enemies. Their methods were ruthless in the extreme.
They had no interest in illicit salt dealers, gambling dens, or usurious pawnshops. They targeted only brothels, brokerage houses, and other places that traded in human beings. Anyone bold enough to stand in their way was sent down to queue before King Yama. Bandits and street thugs received the same treatment: if gods barred their path, they killed gods; if Buddhas barred their path, they killed Buddhas. They slaughtered their way from Dingding Gate to Bronze Camel Lane. For a time, every lowlife heard pursuing soldiers in the wind and the cries of cranes, and the shops in the South Market that specialized in selling people shut their doors to save their own skins.
Yet after a night of turning everything upside down, they still had no leads.
Tuoba Sanniang vaulted onto a wall and saw someone hanging upside down from a crooked tree in the abandoned courtyard. His ankles were bound high against the trunk, and a small slit had been cut into the side of his neck. His blood had already drained away, leaving a broad patch of purplish earth beneath the tree, just as a butcher might slaughter a live pig or sheep.
Wei Xun sat on a round stone nearby, staring silently at the stiffened body with hollow eyes. There was no telling what he was thinking. From the first cut to